


Fast Forward and Rewind

by Shuufleur



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Comic Book Science, Gen, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-17 06:46:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17555387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shuufleur/pseuds/Shuufleur
Summary: Tony didn't mean to build a time machine.





	Fast Forward and Rewind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [laurus_nobilis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurus_nobilis/gifts).



> Written for the Past Imperfect Future Unknown 2018.
> 
> I had fun writing this (which incidentally brought me back to writing, yay).  
> I tried to incorporate what you wanted (my "science" is not even comic book worthy) laurus_nobilis, and I hope you like it!

Contrary to popular belief, Tony didn’t usually build while sleep-deprived or drunk. There were a set of protocols that he programmed in JARVIS to prevent that sort of events.

It was obviously not foolproof. He eyed the metallic sphere placed in the center of the workbench. He squinted, looking at it through different angles, wondering when it might have appeared. It wasn’t there the last time he was awake in the workshop.

“J, did Pepper tried to make another “Tony Stark Has a Heart” thing or…”

“No, sir,” the AI answered, not quite hiding the long-suffering sigh from his tone, “you built it.”

“When?”

“You started at exactly 2 am two days ago and finished it three hours ago.”

Tony pursed his lips, still unsure. Even during his most black out drunk inventing binge, he always had an inkling of what he built (he built DUM-E to prove his worthiness to his father, he built JARVIS to stop feeling so lonely). But this sphere was a complete mystery.

“Is it safe to manipulate?” Tony asked, a hand hovering above the humming object. It wouldn’t surprise him if he booby trapped it, and he’d rather not be maimed or killed by one of his inventions… again.

“Yes, sir, you can manipulate it. You weren’t much concerned when DUM-E played with it.”

Tony snorted and rolled his eyes. He should probably reprimand DUM-E. The bot wouldn’t feel guilty though.

“What can you tell me about this?” Tony asked grabbing the sphere and weighing it in his hand.

It was the size of his palm, heavier than he would have thought. Blue lines of light crossed over all around. It was slowly pulsing, the color fading to black then coming back to its original blue. The rest of the sphere was made from titanium alloy, the little panels neatly welded together.

“I’m not entirely sure, sir,” JARVIS replied, his tone reflecting his puzzlement. “You were mumbling about time travel and fixing your mistakes.”

Tony opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say to that.

“So…” he started, looking back at the sphere, “Did I just accidentally build a time machine?”

JARVIS didn’t answer but Tony didn’t care. He was focused on the sphere. His eyes fell on its support, but it had nothing special, it was just a modified cup holder. His attention back on the object, Tony turned it, fingers pressing lightly on the surface to see if anything came off.

Suddenly, his index went a little deeper when he pressed it. The sphere vibrated, humming to life, the blue lines brightening exponentially.

JARVIS cried out a warning just as Tony swore and threw the sphere away. The object was in the air when it suddenly pulsed a bright blue light, completely engulfing the inventor. Tony closed his eyes, brought his arms up and waited with bated breath. When nothing else happened (no noise, no pain), Tony risked opening an eye, then the other when he saw it was pitch black in the workshop. Except, he was pretty sure he wasn’t in his workshop anymore.

“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” Tony murmured as he turned around. There was no light that he could see, no sound that he could hear until… Tony squinted and noticed a spark that he saw farther away.

Shaking his head, Tony closed his eyes and counted to three.

“Still here,” he muttered when he saw he was still in this dark tunnel. Maybe he just needed to push that stupid button again. He frowned once he realized that his hands were empty. He looked at them, strangely seeing them as clearly as if in daylight. A bit in a panic, Tony started to pat himself down, but he still couldn’t find the sphere. Breathing through his nose, he tried to calm himself. He shouldn’t panic.

Tony’s stomach lurch with fear as the thought that he might have successfully killed himself with one of his creations. He took another breath and started walking. His feet didn’t make any sound on the ground. Hell, Tony couldn’t even feel the _ground_.

As he stepped forward, the spark grew and grew until it formed a ring tall enough to let a man cross. Its bright light sizzled and sparked, making Tony hide his eyes behind his hand. He couldn’t see much inside the ring, just an opaque gray color with shadows dancing behind. He didn’t know where he was stepping, and he hoped it wasn’t the light at the end of the tunnel. There was no time like the present to find out.

He took a deep breath and crossed the ring of light.

There was suddenly nothing underneath his feet and Tony fell with a surprised shout. Heart in his throat, the engineer saw the ground coming in fast. He only had time to brace for impact before his feet hit abruptly the ground. It sent him stumbling forward. Tony raised his arms to stop his path, scraping his hands and forearms by the process. When he finally stopped, Tony stayed still for a minute or two, his body tensed and breathing erratic. The cuts on his hands and arms started to prickle.

It was in these moments he missed having the Iron Man armor.

Gusts of wind swept his hair and the iodine smell invaded his nose. Tony lifted his head and frowned. It looked like he was in front of a big body of water. He pushed himself from the ground and stood. Was this an ocean? Tony looked around, a suspicious feeling growing inside of him. This… this looked weirdly familiar. He could swear he had the same view from his Malibu house—

Tony blew some air out and nodded to himself. So he landed somewhere that looked like his home, but it wasn’t there. What did JARVIS say? Tony built a time travel device so he must have gone to the past, right? That was the most logical thing. He loathed to admit it but… he needed help and fast. He didn’t know what kind of consequences time travel could have in _real life._

This was crazy, Tony thought, passing a hand through his hair. He couldn’t stop the giddy smile he was wearing. Yes, he was stuck somewhere (some _when_ his mind supplied) and needed to go back home. But he successfully found how to actually time travel.

It was an extraordinary step for science.

First, he needed to find when and where he landed. Tony started to make his way towards the land when something caught his eyes. Furrowing his brows, Tony stopped to look. Relief flooded through him when he saw the sphere. It was completely dark, but it didn’t seem in a bad shape. He grabbed it and put in his pocket. Tony could hopefully use it to find his way back home.

With no phone or watch, Tony had no real idea how long he walked. A sense a doom had crept up in him after he crossed path with the first few abandoned cars on the road, and as he approached downtown, Tony realized that his guts weren’t going haywire.

Everything looked abandoned. Cars, buses and other vehicles were left on the streets as if people just left and nobody came back. The streets were empty, not even the birds were singing.

“I really hope I’m not in a time where zombies exist.” Tony muttered to himself, looking inside cars to find a phone or something useful. That’s when he heard it; a humming, similar to the sound of the Iron Man boots. He crouched, using the car as a hiding spot. He looked around, trying to find what was using his technology.

Then, it revealed itself. It looked like a sophisticated plane which hovered like a helicopter. The flying ship landed smoothly. The hatch opened and two figures stepped out.

Both were clad in dark skintight tactical suits. From where he was positioned, Tony could see that the blond-haired woman had a gun in hand, as well as a knife tucked on her thigh and some glowing bracelets around her wrists. The buff man, on the other hand, had no visible weapons and was wearing some kind of shield.

Tony snorted. The guy looked ridiculous with his mini shield. The woman seemed much more prepared. The engineer was outnumbered, but he could probably find a way to sneak in the ship and fly away with it.

They split, which was good for Tony. If they were separated, stealing the ship would be like taking a lollipop from a child. Once they disappeared from his view, he jogged to the ship. He was close to the open hatch when he heard the click of the safety going off. He stilled, grimacing at being caught.

“Hands up and turn around,” a feminine husky voice ordered. Tony obeyed, while his mind was thinking about all the possibilities of escape. There wasn’t much he could do, especially when he saw the man coming back as well.

When they looked at each other, the blonde woman couldn’t keep her shocked expression away. Tony sneered.

“Tony?”

He huffed.

“So familiar, Romanov, and yet I distinctly remember that you lied and betrayed me. I liked you better when you were a redhead.”

Romanov lowered her weapon, her expression sad, sadder than Tony ever saw her. Wasn’t she supposed to be a spy and keep her emotions in check?

“Tony, I’m sorry for what happened. I can’t change what I did, but this isn’t the time. We need to work together.”

Confused, Tony snorted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. And frankly, I find the way you talk to me like we’re friends quite offensive and—”

“Oh my god Tony.”

Before he could react, the buff man from earlier engulfed him in his arms, hugging him tightly. Every fiber in Tony screamed at him to get away. He tried to push away the other man, ready to knee the guy in the balls if he didn’t let him. Luckily for the other man, he let Tony go. The engineer took a step back and looked warily at the other two people.

“I don’t know what is your fucking problem,” Tony snarled, finger pointed angrily at Romanov and the man, “But don’t you dare touch me again.”

The blond man raised his hands in a peaceful manner, a heartbroken expression on his face.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be unsensitive. I’m just…” the man paused, swallowing, his eyes getting suspiciously misty, “I’m just glad you’re OK. After everything, I’m…”

The man stopped, huffing. He passed a hand through his hair and looked at Romanov.

“I know I can be greedy for attention,” Tony started, furrowing his brows, “but I don’t know you.”

He shrugged when the man’s jaw dropped in surprise. Romanov frowned and looked more intensely at Tony. The way she looked at him, the engineer had the impression of being an intriguing science experiment. He wasn’t very fond of that.

“Tony…” the man started before Romanov stopped him with a hand.

“Could you remind me why you think I betrayed you?” She asked, her body tensing slightly. Tony raised an eyebrow and smirked. He didn’t know what game she was playing but he didn’t mind going with it. For now.

“Well, since your memory is so short: you came to work for me under false pretenses and stabbed me in the neck.”

As if he said something wrong, Romanov raised her gun again, her face hardening.

“Who are you?”

Next to her, the man frowned, lost the sad face and changed his stance to something more menacing.

“Your memory isn’t what it used to be if you don’t know who I am.” Tony said with a smirk.

Romanov gripped her gun tighter.

“Who are you?” She repeated, taking a step forward, her companion imitating her. Tony knew he had to act now, or he wouldn’t be able to get away. With no warning, he darted through the hatch and ran to the cockpit. Before he could even reach it, he felt a painful prick on his neck. He stopped and turned around, a hand plucking the dart away.

“Fuck, Romanov, stop stabbing me!” Tony snapped angrily. Both Romanov and the blond man were keeping their distance, waiting. As dizziness washed over him, Tony snarled.

“Fuck you,” he muttered when his legs gave from under him, his ass hitting the ground. The man jumped to him and passed an arm around his shoulders.

He lost consciousness not a second later.

*

It was the pounding inside his head that woke him up. That and the two voices who whispered-shouted next to him.

“— soldier, not baseline humans!” a voice Tony didn’t recognize said.

 “I know, I’m sorry but we had no choice. He was going to run away.” Romanov replied, though she didn’t seem pleased she had to defend her actions.

Typical, Tony thought uncharitably. She didn’t seem very sorry when it was revealed she was a spy under Fury’s thumb.

“You could have talked to him.”

“We couldn’t verify he was Tony Stark.” Another male voice intervened, the voice of the shield guy, “so we did what was the safest for everyone. We don’t need anyone impersonating Tony, especially not now.”

“That’s the thing,” the man Tony didn’t know said, “he _is_ Tony Stark. I’ve compared his scans with what FRIDAY had, and it’s the same person. He’s just a few years younger than Tony. Our Tony.”

“Are you saying…” Romanov trailed off, not able to keep the surprise from her voice. It was time to reveal he was awake.

“Time travel, darling,” he said, opening his eyes to look at them. “I invented time travel.”

Romanov, Blond guy and a guy with wavy hair and glasses gaped at him. Then, the latter, Dr. Bruce Banner, Tony’s mind supplied, shook his head and seemed to snap out of it.

“Tony, uh, I mean, Dr. Stark, you’re awake.”

Tony only nodded, sitting down on the bed with the help of Dr. Banner.

“You’re the only one who calls me doctor,” Tony quipped. “By the way, I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”

Tony had successfully shocked people again. Then Dr. Banner snorted and let a small smile stretch his lips.

“Thanks. My green rage monster has been a little difficult these past few months.”

“Oh? I’m sure he’s just fine.”

Dr. Banner shrugged, then asked, “How are you feeling?”

“I have a headache,” Tony replied with an unfriendly glance to Romanov. The woman smiled brightly at him before taking the blond man by the arm and dragging him outside of the room. He saw Bruce send her a grateful smile before the door closed. He then turned to Tony and started examining him.

“Apart from the headache, nothing else? No problem with the arc reactor?”

Tony couldn’t stop the body flinch at the mention of his high-tech pacemaker, which had been killing him only a few weeks before.

“Nah, it’s fine.” He said, batting gently Banner’s hands away.

“Alright. If you feel anything weird, please, tell me. I don’t want to find you fell over because you didn’t mention you were hurt.” Banner warned sternly. Tony raised his eyebrows, an incredulous smile playing on his lips.

“Aye, aye, captain. I don’t want to be the one to bring out the big guy.”

Banner mirrored his expression.

“That’ll be a change.”

Tony chuckled.

“You know me well.”

“That I do,” Bruce said with a wink.

“So… we’re friends, in this future?”

Banner opened his mouth, eyes averting from Tony.

“We are,” he said after a few seconds. “I have been a little out of contact for a couple of years. But yes, we’re friends.”

Banner didn’t seem convinced, but Tony wasn’t there to find out why.

“You’re not going to threaten me or experiment on me?”

“No, Dr. Stark… we’re not— you’re safe here.”

“Tony, please. We’re friends. And where is here?”

Banner smiled. He didn’t seem bothered or annoyed by Tony’s interruption.

“Bruce, then,” he paused, his eyes going back on the tablet. “Here is upstate New York. This is called the Compound.”

Tony frowned but couldn’t recall anything with this name. He didn’t have time to think more about it as Bruce continued, “I’ve been looking through the data collected at the time you came through… it’s fascinating. Time has never been my field, but this is… incredible.”

By the wide-eyed amazement on his face, the data must be mind-blowing.

“Gimme,” Tony asked, with grabby hands, “I wanna see.”

Banner nodded absently and sat down next to him, holding the tablet so that they both could see the screen.

“See here,” Bruce said, pointing at the highest point in the line graph. “I suppose you came in at that moment. There was a surge of energy, so strong it created a blackout in Malibu.”

“What kind of energy?” Tony asked, interested.

Bruce smiled, a nostalgic expression on his face.

“I’m not that kind of doctor but I assume an energy strong enough to transport you to the future. It has remnant of the Badassium particles, so I assume you used the arc reactor technology.”

Tony whistled.

“Are you really impressed with yourself?” Bruce asked with an eyebrow raised.

“That’s because I’m awesome, even sleep deprived.”

Bruce shook his head, and tutted.

“Not when sentient toasters try to take over the tower, no.”

“The tower?” Tony asked, curious. “What tower?”

Bruce opened his mouth, looking like a fish caught off-guard. His cheeks colored a bit.

“Nothing. I shouldn’t tell you about that. It might… influence things on both ends.”

Dammit, Tony thought, there was his chance to learn more about this somber future, images of what he saw earlier coming back to him.

“What happened here? It looked like the set of a zombie movie or those YA post-apocalyptic movies.”

Bruce swallowed and chose to avoid Tony’s eyes, looking instead at the tablet.

“Let’s get you home first.” He smiled and continued. Tony wanted to protest and insist but Bruce went on, “While you were unconscious, I scanned the sphere you had on you and Tony… this is incredible.”

Bruce swiped on the tablet to show him the scans in question.

“You miniaturized the arc reactor to its smallest size yet, using it as a power source to activate the quantum particles. It opened a breach in the space-time continuum, acting like a bridge between your time and mine.”

Tony was half listening to Bruce, watching the simulation playing on the screen. It showed how the core was activated by the button he pressed, which then made all the quantum particles move so fast it created a friction. It emitted the light, except it wasn’t just light. It was a cloud of quantum particles.

Tony had to admit that he was pretty impressed with himself as well, and he had no memories of doing it! His genius knew no bound it seemed, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On one hand, it was like a big fuck you to his dad and all the people who doubted him. On the other hand, he was wondering what kind of things he could invent if he wasn’t careful. Just this time travel device was already dangerous on its own. In the wrong hands, it could lead to catastrophes. He wasn’t even sure his own hands were the safest.

“Tony?” Bruce said, shaking slightly his shoulder. “Are you OK?”

The engineer blinked and swallowed, willing the thoughts away. He’d worry about that when he would get to his own time.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Bruce.”

He looked at the tablet again.

“In other words, to get me back…”

“We need to charge it. This time travel drained most of the energy. With the help of FRIDAY, I’ve connected it to one of the arc reactors. It should be complete in a few hours.”

“Friday? Who is that?”

Bruce frowned.

“Your… your AI. I thought,” he trailed off, a hand hovering in askance.

“So I built FRIDAY?” Tony smiled, “Are you there?”

“Yes, Boss. It’s nice to see you,” an Irish voice answered, sounding a little emotional.

Tony let out joyful chuckles.

“I had started to think of building other AIs like JARVIS but I never got around to it in my time.”

Bruce smiled sadly and nodded.

“Oh, by the way, is JARVIS here too? Or is he still in Malibu?”

“Tony…” Bruce started but FRIDAY cut him off.

“No Boss, the house in Malibu was destroyed before my time.”

“What?”

Shock couldn’t really describe what Tony was feeling. Dread, throat closing up at the thought of losing his home and JARVIS sometime in the future, _his_ future.

“Boss—”

“FRIDAY, stop,” Bruce intervened, “You remember what we talked about, right? We can’t say anything that could change our past. We don’t know what are the consequences for time travel.”

“Very well,” FRIDAY answered, her tone letting on she was a little miffed. Just like her big brother it seemed, Tony thought fondly. Bruce sighed, removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“I’m sorry, FRIDAY. I didn’t mean to be so harsh.”

The AI didn’t acknowledge Bruce’s apology, so the man sighed again and smiled simply at Tony.

“What happened to JARVIS?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Tony pursed his lips but said nothing more.

“Want to have the nickel tour of the Compound while we wait for the time traveling sphere to charge up and send you home.”

The engineer nodded silently and followed Bruce outside of the room. He quickly saw that he was in a med bay with the most high-end technological devices. In the hallway, they passed a few doors until they came upon a large room with a sofa in front of a giant TV on one side, and a table able to welcome an army on the other. The room was peppered with holographic screens. In front of those screens were Natasha Romanov and the blond guy Tony still didn’t know the name.

They heard them coming and quickly switched off the screens. While Romanov had a great poker face, the blond man was surprisingly easy to read.

“Hey guys,” Bruce greeted, “how are things?”

Romanov glanced at Tony before addressing the scientist.

“We found other people and brought them to the correct facilities.”

It sounded mysterious. It made Tony curious.

“Good, good.”

Bruce cleared his throat and looked at the inventor.

“Are you hungry Tony? We can make something if you want.”

To be honest, he wasn’t really hungry, but at least, he wouldn’t feel their eyes on him tracking every gestures and reactions.

“Sure.”

“What do you want?” the blond man inquired, and really Tony should ask him his name.

“If you got eggs, I wouldn’t mind an omelet.”

The man nodded curtly, looking almost relieved to have something to do, and left.

“Bruce, can I talk to you?” Romanov said then, beckoning the scientist with her hand. The other man glanced at Tony, a worried expression on his face.

“Go on,” Tony reassured, “I’ll be nice, promise.”

Bruce nodded and joined Romanov. As soon as they disappeared in the corridor, Tony went to the holoscreens.

“Alright, tell me how it works baby,” he muttered. The screens lit up and Tony smirked.

“Thanks baby girl.”

And Tony went on his own research. What he found upset him and made him sick. All those lives lost, all those people who died because they couldn’t stop him.

“Tony?”

He squeezed his eyes shut, hands shaking— from rage, sorrow, guilt. His future self was there and fucked off to space. He didn’t stop it.

“Tony, what are you doing?”

A hand on his shoulder made him react.

“Don’t touch me,” he growled, whirling around to face the blond man.

“I’m sorry, Tony,” the other man said, his eyes flickering to the screens, “I’m just worried.”

“About me?” Tony chuckled darkly, “You should be worried about all those people that died because of you.”

“Tony,” the man protested, his jaw set stubbornly, “You shouldn’t have seen that. FRIDAY should have—”

“That’s not her fault,” Tony interrupted, “because this is my tech and if I know how to bypass the Defense security, I can bypass my own.”

“Listen, you weren’t there,” The blond man replied, teeth showing, “you shouldn’t talk out of turn—”

“Oh, right. So I can’t tell you did a fucking shoddy job at saving the world, because you did, and I really don’t like how you talk to me like I’m some dumb teenager that don’t know his left from his right. I’m Iron Man and—”

“I’m well aware you’re Iron Man,” The blond man snapped, “you make sure that everyone never forgets who’s really in charge around here. You take all the decisions alone and fuck if everyone else don’t agree with it.”

“Language,” Tony said automatically although he didn’t know why. Maybe it was the perfect face and the perfect teeth.

“Language?” The other man reacted, incredulous. “Are you—”

“Steve!” Romanov called. “Enough. We could hear you from the other side of the building.”

The blond man, or Steve, shut his mouth and Tony couldn’t help but sneer at him. The glare Romanov sent him made him lost it. Beside her, Bruce looked uncomfortable.

“Well, since this is done, I’ll be sure to stay out the way. I wouldn’t you to slow you down.”

He didn’t wait for them to say something, Tony left. Since he didn’t know the building, he quickly got lost, but at least, the others weren’t following him.

“Hey, baby girl, can you point me to the workshop?”

“Of course, Boss. Please follow the lit-up arrows.”

Tony winked at one of the cameras in thanks and followed the path laid out on the ground. Quickly, he arrived at the workshop. The door opened automatically for him, and it was like coming home. Apparently, he didn’t change much in the oncoming years.

There was some whirring sound, and soon Tony saw DUM-E rolling towards him, letting excited beeps out.

“Hey, buddy, you’re still here I see.”

DUM-E thrilled in answer and rolled around Tony. He smiled at his antics, then walked to what seemed the main workbench.

“Alright, FRIDAY, show me what future me did on the armor. I’m curious to see what I’ll come up.”

“On it, Boss.”

As the different folders opened before his eyes, Tony saw the sphere placed on another workbench. It was charging through a cable going from the sphere to an arc reactor, which was different than his.

Interesting, he thought for himself then he went back to the screens. Before he could dive into his future self’s tech, the door hissed open.

He turned around to see Bruce coming in. He had a plate in his hands and a sheepish look on his face.

“Your omelet. Steve is sorry. He didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“Thanks,” Tony said, grabbing the plate and the fork offered. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Tony Stark, apologizing?” Bruce commented in a fake surprised tone.

The engineer rolled his eyes.

“Don’t tell him. I don’t want to show my good side.”

Bruce snorted, a fond smile on his lips.

“Of course not. Why would you?”

Tony shrugged and took a bite of the omelet. Not bad, he thought. It was better than the omelet he made for Peppe.

Bruce’s face fall at the look of the screens.

“You really miss me, huh? I mean, future me.”

Bruce looked back at him.

“Contrary to popular belief, he’s not a bad man.”

Tony tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

“Thanks.”

“Boss,” FRIDAY intervened, “the sphere is now fully charged.”

Bruce stood and grabbed the sphere and handed it to the engineer

“One piece of advice before I leave?” Tony inquired jokingly.

Bruce looked away for a second.

“Don’t give in into your fear. You have a team, and they got your back. You should… trust them a little more. You don’t have to handle the fate of the world all alone.”

Tony nodded, “Yeah, I guess I could. Thanks Bruce. I’m glad I have a friend like you.”

“I wish I could have been a better friend.”

“Hindsight is 20/20. I’m sure you did what you thought was best at the time.”

“Just like you, Tony.”

Bruce took a deep breath and extended his hand. The engineer shook it without hesitation.

“See you soon, Bruce.”

“You too,” The scientist replied with a hopeful smile before leaving him alone in the workshop.

“Alright, FRIDAY. It’s time.”

“Goodbye, Boss,” the AI answered, emotion cleared in her voice.

Tony pressed the sphere. It hummed, its blue lines brightening. The same engulfing light appeared, and Tony was back in the black tunnel. Once again, a spark drew his attention and he walked towards it.

He braced himself and stepped across the ring of light. He fell but landed better than the first time.

Looking around him, he found himself in front Stark Industries warehouses that his father built in upstate New York.

“Hm, not a bad idea,” Tony thought, walking towards the building.

“Mister Stark.”

He sighed and turned to the voice. He faced a bald woman dressed in monk clothing.

“And who are you?”

“I’m here to make things right.” She announced coming to him, her steps grateful. It almost seemed like she was floating above ground.

“Right. You do that, I’m going home.”

Tony was going to leave when she called him again.

“Mr. Stark, I cannot let you leave.”

Cold washed over him as he looked at her.

“What?”

She was by his side in a split second, her hand on his forehead. A sharp pain went through his head. He fell to the ground and—

*

A sharp metallic noise startled Tony awake. His head shot up from where it was resting on the workbench. He looked around wildly, blood pumping in his veins. He only relaxed, tension draining from his body, when he realized that he was in his workshop in Malibu, and alone.

Heartbeat slowing down, Tony swiveled around to see what had woken him. He noticed immediately DUM-E who holding a dirty rag in his claw.

“Stupid bot, I have a heart condition you know.”

The bot drooped his arm, beeping sadly.

“Yeah, you drama queen.”

Tony stood, feeling weirdly refreshed for spending hours in the workshop.

“I’m hungry for an omelet.” He announced. “J, order in.”

“Right away, sir.”


End file.
